Free to Sing: Second Verse
by Frog-Lizard
Summary: Frog: Sadly, this is on a permanent hiatus :( Sorry guys, my heart just isn't in this story anymore and honestly my writing craft has superseded it. I'd like to rewrite this series someday, but right now, I just don't have the time to plot out a story I can really be proud of. Once again, I am very sorry :(
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing from Fire Emblem as we all know.

Frog: Yay! Chapter 1 of the sequel! I suppose this is another reason I've been having so much trouble with Hawks and Ravens. I've just had too many ideas for this story. Anyways, this first chapter is like a "where are they now" sort of thing. I start with showing Ticara, then Danny, and finally Celeste. The first one is ok, the second one is better, and the third one is definitely the best. You will see why. The canon characters are probably all somewhat OOC, I know, and I apologize. Oh, and I have introduced another OC character. He won't play a big part, I just need him for something later. And now, the first chapter!

* * *

"I'm so bored," Ticara grumbled, blowing at the long bangs that hung over part of her face.

"We know," Vika responded patiently. Which was almost surprising seeing as this was a statement the tiger laguz made quite often. Especially recently.

"I'm sorry. I now you guys don't like it here very much since the incident with Izuka," Michaiah apologized.

Ticara's lower lip quivered, and Tormod shook his head, "Not again."

The female tiger laguz suddenly clutched onto poor Muarim's arm, whimpering softly. Her close companion and friend for many years, sighed and patted her reassuringly on the head with his other hand. She had been just as upset as Tormod about the whole ordeal, but just showed it a different way. She refused to let Muarim out of her sight for more than a minute, and whenever reminded of the event, would cling to him as though they would both die if she let go.

"It's alright, little one. I don't mind," Muarim nodded to his adopted son, "She's just a bit shaken."

"Yeah, I know," Tormod smiled, "I suppose she's not complaining about boredom anymore. That's a good thing."

"I've been meaning to ask," Ilyana began shyly, coming up to their fire pit, "Have you heard from Mia or Celeste?"

Ticara loosened her death grip on Muarim slightly, "Not for two years. We don't get much mail out in the middle of the desert."

"Oh..." the tiny thunder mage lowered her head.

"I'm sure their fine," Muarim smiled, "Those two can take care of themselves."

"You're right," she sighed, "I guess...things are just so quiet without them around."

"Somehow, I don't see that as a bad thing," Sothe muttered.

"Weren't you one of Mia's minions for the army-wide sleepover though?" Ticara smirked, raising an eyebrow. He winced.

"Sleepover? That's a story I haven't heard," Michaiah chuckled.

"Please don't...mention that ever again," the rougue almost shuddered.

His silver-haired friend laughed, "You guys will have to tell me more about that one some time."

"Of course!" Ticara smirked evilly, causing Sothe to glare at her. Michaiah giggled again, and walked away to run some errands. They were all quiet for a few minutes after that before...

"I'm bored again."

"Then find something creative to do," a tall, well built man with short blue hair grumbled.

"Shut it, Varen! No one's talking to you!" Ticara spun around, snapping at him. He just shrugged.

"For once, he actually has a point," Tormod nodded. The tiger woman glowered at him.

"The only thing to do here is have staring contests with Volug," she muttered. The giant sleeping "dog" lazily opened an eye at the mention of his name.

"Well then why don't you do that?" Tormod asked in exasperation, "It's better than nothing."

"Allow me to show you why," Ticara grumbled. As if on cue, Volug came closer, and just sat in front of her staring. She closed her eyes momentarily, and then opened them to start the match. For about three and a half minutes, they just looked at each other. The tiger woman suddenly closed her eyes tightly with a growl, and started rubbing them. Volug just went back to his sleeping spot.

"See? He doesn't blink at all!" she pouted, "You just _can't _win against him!"

* * *

"You know you can't win, Makalov," a man with short orange hair tied back with a yellow headband muttered with a heavy sigh. Said knight was seated on the opposite side of the table in what appeared to be a meditative state. Between them was a tray with a single cookie on it, and a small wolf laguz child eyeing it hungrily.

Makalov opened one eye to look at the other man, "But this time it's for the last cookie. I won't loose to _him_," he stated, sending Aiden a glare. The wolf laguz pup just gave him a toothy grin in response. Lantose, the other fellow, sighed again.

"Ok Aiden. You ready?" the knight asked, his eyes closed again. Aiden closed his own eyes tightly.

"Yep!" he chimed.

"Ready. Set," Lantose made a dramatic pause, "Go!"

Makalov's eyes snapped open with as stern a look as was possible for someone like him. Aiden, on the other hand, unveiled a pair of puppy-dog eyes that only his race is capable of pulling off. Makalov didn't stand a chance and Aiden was soon eating his cookie.

"I told you," Lantose snickered.

"Oh be quiet," the knight grumbled, standing up to get another drink.

"You want some Amy?" Aiden offered, breaking his cookie in half.

"Ok!" the little girl smiled brightly, 'Thank you."

"Welcome."

"Hey! I'm your friend too," Makalov complained.

"No. You're someone who's easy to take advantage of," a smooth female voice behind him mused. A drink was set in front of him, and he immediately lost himself in it. Danny just shook her head, smirking.

She was a bit of a waitress in Calill's shop during the day. Though she returned to her quarters in the back at night to avoid some of the more prejudiced crowd. She wore a pale gray, fitting top with sleeves that went just past her elbows. Over that was a dark gray corset with black ties. She also wore black slacks, and a dirty gray cloth was tied around her waist which she frequently used as a cleaning rag.

"Why do you encourage him?" Calill asked with a sigh, eyeing the mug he was guzzling down.

"He's not drunk yet," Danny pointed out.

"I know. He just..."

"Disgusts you?" the magpie finished after checking to see that Astrid was nowhere nearby.

"Yes. That," Calill muttered, crossing her arms. She gave Danny a thoughtful look, "You know, I _still _don't understand why you decided to stay here of all places."

"Simple. You invited me to stay here," the other woman shrugged, brushing some glossy black hair behind her ear.

"I don't mean _here _here," the sage murmured, "I mean in Crimea. Your closest friends all went places with other laguz."

"Well..." Danny leaned against the counter, "The desert didn't really appeal to me. And Celeste started out in Pheonicis. A place I would not have been permitted to go even if I could fly, and admittedly, not a place I really _want _to live in."

"But she's in Gallia now, isn't she?" Calill questioned.

"Yes. But I already have a job here, and it's a nice enough place."

"Ah yes. A _job_," the blond woman's sharp eyes fell on Lantose. He gulped.

"I-I have a job," he stuttered, standing up. He also wore a yellow cape, signaling that he was a thunder mage of some sort.

"Babysitting Amy and Aiden is _hardly_ a job! What are you, 26 now?" she snapped.

He averted his eyes, "In a few months. I'm still 25."

She rolled her eyes, "And _why _do we have to take care of you again?"

"Because I'm you _favorite _cousin," he grinned.

"Well, since you are living under my roof, family or not, I _insist_ you get a job!"

"Where?" he asked in exasperation.

"The royal knights would be happy to have you," Keiran piped up from a nearby table.

"I'm not interested. No offence, but the castle just isn't my type of place," the young man snorted.

"How about a mercenary then?" Danny suggested.

"That would only work if he was in a group," Calill sighed tiredly, "No one will take him seriously otherwise. Not with a face like _that_."

"Too true," the magpie tapped her chin thoughfully.

"Hey!" Lantose pouted.

"Let's just face it," Largo laughed, "The boy isn't really cut out for _any _job."

"Except for being a stay-at-home dad. He's good with kids," Danny mused.

"Well then go get married! Just stop being a lazy bum! That's all I'm asking," Calill snipped.

Lantose rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh, "Fine. Fine. I'll be back in an hour, ok?"

"Where are you going?" Largo asked curiously.

"Somewhere..." he grumbled, walking out the door. The others looked at each other.

"I give him five minutes," Danny shook her head.

"I bet two," Calill muttered.

"What? Betting? Did I win?" Makalov shouted groggily.

"You gave him the strong stuff, didn't you?" the blond woman raised an eyebrow at the raven laguz.

"The sooner he's drunk, the less he can buy, and the less his sister owes," Danny shrugged.

"True."

* * *

"Hey Skrimir," a girl with forest green hair almost to her waist, and a short blue dress with black leggings called.

"Yes Celeste?" he asked boredly, still not sure what to think of the branded girl. She was eyeing him mass of red hair carefully.

"Would you hate me if I called you Fluffy?"

"Huh?"

"You heard me," she put her hands on her hips.

"Probably."

"Ok."

"Do you enjoy acting like a flea?"

"A flea?" she pouted, "And here I was beginning to think we could be friends."

"Don't antagonize him, Celeste," Ranulf chuckled coming into the room.

"forgive me if I get bored easily. There's nothing to do here. Can we go to town today? Please?" she pleaded hopefully.

"Maybe tomorrow," the turquoise-haired cat sighed, but gave her a friendly wink.

Celeste just nodded, and left the room. She was confined to Gallia's palace unless she had someone with her. It was Reyson's idea, no surprise, but it was something she had to agree with to some extent. No one was sure how the people of Gallia would treat a lone "parentless" wandering the streets. And it was still better than Pheonicis.

The hawk nation had been ok for the most. Until Janaff told everyone she was afraid of hieghts. Hawks have a cruel sense of humor, let's just leave it at that. That was another time she had been thankful for Reyson's overprotectiveness. Unfortunatly, hawks are also a little dense, and there was always that handful that never learned.

She made her way to her room, and opened one of her drawyers. The bottom of which was scattered with letters. She picked up the one on top that had the most recent date scrawled on it. That was almost three weeks ago now.

She sat on her bed and began to reread it, as she often did with Mia's letters, and letters she occasionally recieved from other old friends (which were very few). Her swordmaster friend rambled on and on in nearly unllegible handwriting about anything and everything, whether it was interesting or not. Celeste sighed. She did miss being a mercenary sometimes. She would have written back, but the Greil Mercenaries were always on the move, so there wasn't any address she could use.

Someone knocked loudly on her door, causing her to jump. She set the letter on her bed, and answered it. In the hall were Lyre and Kyza. Celeste wasn't surprised.

"Celeste," Lethe's feminine sister huffed, "Who do you think would win a race from one end of the palace to the other? Me or him?"

"Why don't you two _have _a race and find out?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We don't have time for that. There are duties that must be attended to," Kyza explained. Celeste rolled her eyes. And yet they had time to come and ask her about it.

"In shifted form, I'd have to say Kyza. In this form, my best guess would by Lyre. But it also depends on how narrow the hallways are you would take."

The cat girl wrinkled her nose, "That's no help!"

"Sorry," the branded girl shrugged, "Say, have either of you seen Reyson?"

They shared a glance, "Not recently. No," Kyza stated apologetically.

"Alright," Celeste sighed, locking her door behind her to keep annoying kids from messing up her room, "I'll find him myself."

For once, that was actually much easier said than done. Apparently he was in town or something. Of course the person who told her that sounded unsure. Eventually she gave up and instead occupied her time with doodling random cartoons in a sketch book. It was late evening when Leanne and Nealuchi came into the room.

"Miss Celeste! There you are!" the old crow smiled broadly. Leanne pulled her into a tight embrace and started babbling.

Now Celeste could understand _some _of the ancient tongue by now, but not enough to know what the heron princess was saying, especially when she was talking this fast. And while both girls would at times spend hours together, swapping languages, Celeste wasn't making _nearly _as much progress as her.

"Nealuchi?" she gave him a sheepish smile, "Translation?"

"Oh she's just excited to see you again," he cackled. The two of them had just returned from Crimea earlier that day, but she hadn't seen them until now.

"Yeah. I noticed," she sighed, "Thank you for the hug, Leanne. I'm glad you two got back safely."

The enthusiastic heron girl pulled away from her wearing a smile that could put the sun to shame. She said something else, this time slower. Still, the branded girl could only make out a few words.

"Reyson," she repeated slowly in the common tongue, "And something about me..."

"Yes. The White Prince is looking for you. He should be on the balcony off the throne room. Don't keep him waiting now," Nealuchi's eyes sparkled.

She gave him a weird look, "Ok...I'll be right there."

She hurried on her way to the throne room. Surprisingly no one was there. She went to the balcony where Reyson stood waiting. He looked a bit distraced, so she cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Huh? Oh Celeste, you're here," he smiled at her and motioned for her to join him.

"Hey Reyson. Where were you today?" she smiled back, and stood next to him.

He shrugged, "I had to talk to someone."

"Mind telling me who?" she teased.

"My...father," he answered, seeming to get a little nervous.

Celeste gave him a worried look, "How is he?"

"Oh he's fine," he reassured, "I just needed to...ask for his opinion."

"Did it go well?" she press slightly, wondering what could possibly be making him seem so anxious.

"Yeah. It did," he smiled weakly, before taking a deep breath, "Celeste...

"Oh for skies sake, Reyson! What's wrong?" Celeste asked with worried impactience.

He chuckled and turned to face her. Then, much to her surprise, he got down on one knee, and extending a ring to her, "Celeste...I would like you to marry me. If you will accept."

Celeste felt her face grow red as she stared at him in a stupor. _Oh..._

"I um...s-sure..." she muttered, averting her eyes in embarassment.

"Sure?" Reyson repeated, raising an eyebrow in amusment as he slid the ring onto her finger.

"Well what am I supposed to say?" she huffed, crossing her arms tightly, "You put me on the spot!"

He chuckled, stood up straight, and embraced her, "My aplogies then."

She just stubbornly pursed her lips, glaring at nothing. Despite what you actions may imply, she was on top of the world right now. And also, despite all her irritation and stubborness, the fact that she and Reyson were engaged started to melt her embarassed facade.

"You're so strange sometimes," he laughed again when she finally gave in and hugged him back tightly.

"I know," she chimed, smiling up at him. He kissed her gently.

A high-pitched squeal drew their attention to the balcony's entrance. Lyre was standing there with her hands clasped over her heart. Lethe, Kyza, Mordicai, and Ranulf soon joined her as did Leanne, Nealuchi and Caineghis.

"Were you guys watching the entire time?" Celeste gulped.

"We were here for most of it," Lethe shrugged with a slight smirk. The branded girl felt a blush creeping into her cheeks again.

Lyre hurried over, chattering constantly, "I get to help plan the wedding right? And be a bridesmaid. Personally I think right here in the throne room would be a _lovely _place to hold the ceremony. Oh! And you should get a wedding dress from Crimea. Beorc wedding gowns are _so _pretty from what I've hear. And then..."

Celeste covered the girl's mouth resulting in a faint sigh of relief from the others. She gave the cat girl a sincere, but somewhat forced smile, "Thank you for your input. But if you haven't noticed, we just got engaged a few minutes ago. We aren't planning a wedding _just _yet."

"I know but..."

"It's ok, Lyre," Lethe sighed tiredly, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder, "I'm sure that you'll be the first person Celeste comes to when she's ready to start planning."

Celeste was relieved to catch the more sensible cat girl's eye, and see she wasn't being serious. She mouthed a "thank you" and turned back to Reyson.

"Just whatever you do, don't put Mia in charge," he warned teasingly.

"_That _would only end in disaster," she giggled in response. King Caineghis came over and put a hand on each of their shoulders.

"I am very happy for both of you. And I will do whatever I can for the two of you," he smiled fondly at them.

"Thank you, your highness," Reyson nodded respectfully.

Leanne ran over, hugging Celeste again, and babbling as much as ever. The forest-haired girl gave Reyson a look, prompting him to interpret.

"She said that now the two of you will be sisters," he chuckled lightly. His fiance smiled at the heron girl.

"What are you talking about? We've always been sisters.

"Aw. Th-thank you," Leanne managed to say. Celeste gave her a tight hug back.

"Congratulations!" Ranulf beamed, joing the hug.

"Indeed. We all wish you well," Kyza bowed slightly.

"Hey! We aren't married _yet_!" Celeste pretended to be irritated.

"Yeah, but let's face it; you two need all the well wishing and good luck you can get," Lethe teased, chuckling to herself.

Celeste pouted, "That's not very nice."

"She's only kidding," Nealuchi reassured as though they didn't already know that, "The love you two share will help you overcome anything."

"Thank you, Nealuchi. That means a lot to us," Reyson smiled at him, pulling Celeste close again.

"Any time, White Prince," the old crow nodded.

Celeste leaned into her now fiance's embrace. Never would she have imagined when she first offered her bow to the Crimean army, when she was waiting in that prison cell four years ago; that she would end up here. Of all places, and after so much. Fate was a strange entity, if it was anything at all. She couldn't help but wonder what else it had in store for them.

* * *

Frog: And so it starts again. I still think some of the people were OOC, but it doesn't really matter. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it, even if it's just getting started. I could say more, but then I'd probably end up rambling forever, knowing me. So I guess I'll just ask that you review! I love to know what people think. Suggestions and such are appreciated, as usual, and I'll answer any questions you may have. Thank you for reading! Bye!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Fire Emblem, just my OCs.

Frog: Sorry this took so long. The end of this school year has been busy. But graduation is coming up this weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to write more after that. And as a side note, I have nothing against anyone named Jason, that's just the name I came up with for...well you'll see. This chapter is really kind of boring, but I had to get some of this stuff out of the way. Next chapter is much better.

_herbblade—_There's still not much action yet since we haven't gotten to any actual battles, and Mia isn't around till next chapter. But it will pick up soon I hope.

* * *

Celeste was lounging on her bed, admiring her beautiful ring. She and Reyson had been engaged for a few weeks now, and some wedding preparations were already underway. They hadn't decided on too much, however. Times were uncertain, especially considering that Daein had recently gained its independence, and rumors of revolt were being whispered in Crimea.

She winced when she heard a loud knocking on the door, and prayed silently that it wasn't Lyre. Unfortunately, it was, but instead of spouting all kinds of outlandish wedding ideas, she was out of breath with wild excitement in her eyes.

"Celeste! You're never going to guess what I have to tell you!" she panted.

"I'm not sure I want to know," the branded girl admitted, getting ready to close the door if it was needed. Lyre pouted for the briefest of moments before getting over it and chattering like a blue jay.

"Prince Reyson's older brother is alive! And he's coming here! The White Prince, Lady Leanne, His Majesty, General Skrimir, Ranulf, and Lethe all went to greet him."

Celeste blinked and shook her head, "Wait, back up. Reyson has and older brother?"

"Yep! You should change out of that tacky outfit you're wearing, though. A dress would would make a better first impression," Lyre mused, glancing at Celeste's old archer uniform from the war.

"Sorry. Too lazy to care," Celested muttered with a sigh.

"But this is Reyson's _brother_! You don't have wings at all, so you need to do everything you can to make sure he'll at least approve of you a _little_," the cat huffed. She had never quite understood why Celeste rarely took her advice.

"How do you know he won't approve of me just the way I am?" the green-haired girl raised an eyebrow, "Did Reyson seem worried about it?"

"Well...no..." Lyre looked down thoughtfully, "Still, it wouldn't hurt to..."

Celeste just shook her head, and closed the door before the cat girl could continue.

They day went by all too slowly. She did many of the things she usually did, with the exception of what she could do with the people that were currently gone. Simply put, she found herself to be quite bored. Eventually, Lyre found her again.

"They're back!!" she yelled, causing Celeste's pencil to make an unwanted line on the picture she was drawing. She winced. Oh well, she wasn't a very good artist anyways.

"Where are they?" she asked, setting her artwork down, and standing up. She might as well get this over with.

"The throne room, I believe," the cat laguz chimed, "Now hurry up! I want to come too!"

The forest-haired girl sighed slightly, but the cat's enthusiasm was helping her feel more relaxed about the whole ordeal. So the two of them made their way to the throne room. When they arrived, Celested timidly opened the door a crack. The newcomers were in the center of the room with the rest of the group. Reyson's brother looked very similar to his siblings, though considerably more...peaceful, for lack of a better word. There was also a woman with dark skin, and grayish hair that had a huge fluffy white tail.

"If you announce my presence, I will kill you," Celeste warned Lyre with a deadly whisper. She hated it when everyone looked at her silently because she or someone else had been too loud. The orange-haired girl made a "my lips are sealed" type gesture, and the two of them slid into the room unnoticed.

Or so they thought, as a gasp was heard from their left, and someone yelled "Celly!!" Celeste squeaked, suddenly finding herself in a rib-crushing hug.

"I'm so glad to see you!" Ticara squealed, hugging her even tighter.

"Ticara?" the branded girl turned her head to see her long-time friend. The tiger woman set her down, grinning from ear to ear. Soon Tormod and Muarim came up as well, also smiling.

"It's good to see you again," Muarim chuckled, and embraced her as well. As always, he was much more gentle.

"How have you guys been?" Celeste beamed warmly.

"Pretty good," Tormod shrugged, "You don't look like you've changed much."

"Unlike you. How many inches have you grown?" she questioned, giving the sage a hug as well, and looking him over.

"Not enough apparently," Ticara snickered, "You should see how Sothe's turned out."

Tormod glared at her and Celeste giggled, "And who's this?" she asked next, looking at a raven girl who was hanging behind the group.

"Celeste meet Vika. Vika, this is Celeste," Ticara introduced, "You know, the old friend of ours."

"It's nice to meet you," Vika hesitantly came closer and shook Celeste's hand.

"You too," the branded girl gave her a reassuring smile. The raven managed to smile sheepishly back. Celeste glanced to the side momentarily to see that everyone was staring. Great...

"Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt," she blushed, shrugging sheepishly.

"No. It's fine," Reyson shook his head, motioning for her to join them, "Celeste, I would like you to meet my older brother Rafiel, and Nailah, Queen of Hatari."

"Hatari?" she cocked her head curiously.

"It's a nation that mostly consists of wolf laguz that exists across the desert from Daein," Ranulf explained, "We didn't even know they existed until a few hours ago."

"I see," she nodded, and inclined her head slightly, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Nailah simply nodded, "And your name is Celeste?"

"Yep!" she chimed, "I'm a mercenary."

"A beorc mercenary that has taken residence in Gallia?" Rafiel looked at her curiously.

"It was Reyson's idea," she sighed heavily, "He's a bit overprotective, and won't let me leave."

"You want to leave us?" Ranulf whimpered, pretending to look hurt.

"Sometimes," she muttered, waving her hand dismissivly, "You furry people can get on my nerves sometimes."

"Hmph. Well you aren't much better," the turquios haired cat huffed.

"I know," she snorted, crossing her arms, "But at least I'm not Mia."

"Grow up you two," Lethe rolled her eyes. They shared a glance and then stuck their tongues out at her.

"Lethe always ruins all the fun," Ranulf grumbled. His expression suddenly brightened, however, and her turned to Reyson, "Don't you have an announcement to make?"

"Yes, but you all keep talking," the heron prince pointed out. Ranulf hunched his shoulders in shame, though it was likely he was just acting again.

"What kind of announcment?" Rafiel questioned. The completely serene look on his face was almost unnerving to Celeste, since it was so differant that the expressions of his siblings.

Reyson smiled warmly, taking Celeste's hand in his own, "Celeste and I are engaged!"

"Really?" Rafiel's eyes sparkled, and the branded girl wondered if he was going to cry with joy, "That's so wonderful!"

"Aw. Little Celly is already all grown up and going to get married?" Ticara sniffed, hugging Muarim, "It seems like it was just yesterday that she was cowering in fear behind her mother at the sight of me."

"Isn't she a beorc?" Vika asked, looking completely confused.

"I'm half heron, actually," Celeste explained simply, pointing to the mark on her neck.

"I see..." Nailah rubbed her chin, eyeing the forest haired girl closely before shrugging, "That's better than nothing, I suppose."

"Should I take offence to that?" Celeste sneered. The wolf queen raised an eyebrow, before chuckling.

"Personally I think you act more like a cat. You've got a quick tongue on you."

"Yep. She's one of us," Ranulf grinned, "Even though she blatantly denies it."

"I'm good most of the time, though," Celeste chimed in, "Ranulf's the one you need to look out for."

"Hey! I'm not as bad as Lyre!" the male cat complained.

"Yes, but if you haven't noticed, my back is to her. So saying such would not be a very wise decision," the branded girl explained. She could feel Lyre's glare on her as Ranulf shrugged and nodded in agreement.

"How long have you two known each other?" Rafiel smiled warmly, still in an emotional state.

"About three and a half years now, I believe," Reyson looked up thoughtfully.

"Oo! You've never told us how you met!" Lyre squealed, rushing over. Reyson and Celeste shared a glance of uncertainty, and Lethe snickered.

"We'd rather not talk about it," they both answered in unison.

"Aw. Why not?" the feminine cat girl whined, "It couldn't have been that bad, could it?"

"I wouldn't say it was _bad,_" Ticara shook her head, smirking, "It was just terribly funny to everyone but the two of them."

"You would have to have been there," Lethe sighed, still chuckling a bit.

"Can we drop it now?" Celeste mumbled irritably.

"And then there was that time you slapped him," Lethe continued, enjoying the other girl's discomfort.

"He was being stubborn and childish! He made me loose my temper!" she snapped defencively.

"I didn't _make _you loose your temper," Reyson pointed out.

"Fine. You _provoked _my temper," she glared at him.

"You two are deffinatly a couple," Ranulf mused, shaking his head as he chuckled.

"And don't they make a cute one at that?" Ticara giggled.

"I know! Don't we!" Celeste chimed, throwing her arms around her fiance's neck, and making a cutesy pose. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Aw..." Leanne crooned, pretending it was the most adorable thing she had ever seen.

Celeste gave Reyson a little peck on the cheek, and back away, "Well I'm sure you all have lots more catching up to do, and I don't really need to be here, so I'll just be going."

"It's alright. I don't mind you being here," Rafiel gave her a reasuring smile. She shook her head.

"No, it's fine," she made a gesture toward Muarim, Ticara, Tormod, and Vika, "I think I'll show these guys around some before they have to go."

He nodded in understanding, and she left the room with her friends and Lyre in tow.

"So what do you all feel like doing?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at them.

"I'm hungry!" Ticara stated simply.

"Me too," Tormod grimaced, clutching his stomache.

"Let's go eat then. Too the kitchen!" the branded girl lead them to the dining hall. Ticara, Muarim, and Tormod piled food on their plates while she herself Vika and Lyre got more reasonable amounts.

"So what have you guys been up to?" Celeste asked, after they had settled at one of the tables.

"Just the usual," Tormod shrugged, taking another bite, "Except I suppose helping with Daein's little thing is a bit out of the ordinary."

"Little?" Ticara snorted indignantly, "Just because we didn't travel all over Tellius during our last campaign, doesn't make it _little_."

"Wow Ticara," Celeste raised an eyebrow with a sarcastic tone to her voice, "I see your vocabulary has increased. Are you actually getting smarter?"

The tiger laguz bristled and glared at her plate, "Vika's idea..."

"I'm sorry," the raven murmured half heartedly, a faint smirk on her lips, "I just got so tired of your speech."

"Well it's good to see you've learned a few things," Celeste giggled, and changed the subject, "You mentioned Sothe. How is he doing?"

"He's tall," Ticara muttered simply, "Maybe my hieght by now. Still as boring as ever. And likes to nag and be overprotective...sort of like Reyson."

Celeste nodded, wondering if she would ever see him again. It certainly would be interesting. And...now he was tall enough that she couldn't mess up his hair anymore. Too bad.

"We saw Ilyana again, too," the tiger laguz woman continued, "She misses you. Seems to have gotten much stronger too."

"She's still a stick though, even though she eats more than I do," Tormod added, "And she still travels with that merchant caravan."

"They were there too?" Celeste cocked her head curiously, "How many other people were there that I know."

"Lemme think," Ticara looked up in thought as Vika winced at her grammar, "There was that reddish-pink haired wyvern rider."

"Jill," Celeste nodded. That wasn't a surprise.

"And a swordmaster with bueish hair. You know, the one that likes laguz. He's from Daein."

"Zihark? Really? Huh..." she shrugged, think of how he and Jill _used_ to be at opposite ends of the laguz love-hate spectrum.

"And uh...there was that old guy in white armor."

"General Tauroneo," Tormod stated, now about half done with his meal.

"Yeah, that guy," Ticara said vaguely, "And your brother showed up a few times..."

Celeste's fork hit her plate with a clang that seemed to resonate throughout the entire room. Ticara's eyes widened as she suddenly realized the somewhat overly casual way she had brought the subject up. Lyre and Vika looked completely lost.

"Celeste, you never told me you have a brother!" the cat laguz pouted.

"H-he's still alive?" she breathed, just waiting for someone to pinch her and wake her up. But was this a dream or a nightmere? She wasn't sure.

"Apparently..." Muarim confirmed softly.

"You need to lie down? You look a little pale," Ticara asked worriedly, beginning to stand up.

"M-maybe," Celeste reached up and touched her temple as she rose from her seat as well.

"Do you need some help?" Muarim followed.

"No. I can walk," she raised her hand to still the two tiger laguz, "You guys need to eat. It must have been a long journey here."

"But..."

"I'll be fine," she reasured again, leaving her plate and heading to her room on the steadiest feet she could muster.

Once inside her room, she flopped down on her bed with a heavy sigh. All the questions she thought had died out three years ago came rushing back. She couldn't believe this was happening to her _again_. Here came the headache.

She layed down on her bed, hoping she would doze off, or at least come to a point where she wouldn't have to think. She wasn't sure which it was she reached when she was brought back to reality by a polite tapping on her door.

"Is everything alright?" Reyson asked gently when she opened the door. She paused, blinking as he studied her face closely before letting him in and sittingin a chair in her room. She could tell he was trying desperatly to resist the temptation to read her mind. But she had gotten after him for that enough times, that he had finally started to listen.

"Why wouldn't it be?" she coughed, mostly just trying to figure out if he knew already or not.

"I asked our friends where you were. They shared a worried glance, and said you had gone to lie down," he explained, crossing his arms, "Naturally, I guessed something was wrong."

"Hm..." Celeste nodded in understanding, pursing her lips, "I wouldn't say something is _wrong_, I just feel really...confused for lack of a better word..."

"About..." he pressed, impaciently tapping his finger on his arm. Celeste just about laughed. She knew he was just concerned for her, as he was about seventy percent or more of the time, but he took it all so seriously that it was funny.

"Did you know my brother is alive too? Supposedly?" she suddenly blurted. Reyson just stood there a moment as that sunk in.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly, kneeling in front of her.

"That's what Ticara said," she sighed, "And now...I don't know if I should be relieved, terrified, or angry..."

He took her hands and gave her a reasuring smile, "Then don't think about it right now. You have more important things to worry about."

"Like what?" she gave him a skeptical look. He smirked.

"Like how to keep Lyre from inviting the whole of Tellius to our wedding."

"Ugh," she grimaced, "You're right. That _is_ a problem."

"See? It's likely that you will never see him again, anyways," he gave her a kind smile as he stood, "Just don't fret about it, and everything will be fine. If there ever comes a time when it would be an issue, we can worry about it then."

"Ok, I get it," she sighed heavily, and rose to her feet as well, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to lodge some arrows in a tree."

At first, Reyson looked a bit puzzled, wondering if she was still upset, but he soon remembered, "Oh, right. Your weekly practice."

She nodded, pulling an iron bow and a quiver full of arrows out from behind her bed, "My aim has been lacking some, lately. And I'm not as quick as I once was," she tested the bow string, "But I suppose that's what happens when you don't need to use it in order to survive."

Which was true. Times were peaceful, especially in Gallia right now...for the most part. The services of a mercenary weren't needed. Besides that, she no longer needed to work for her food since she lived in the palace.

"Do you think I'll ever really have to use this again?" she mused, pausing by the door and gazing at her bow with longing.

"I don't know. I can't see into the future. I would hope you don't, but I also wouldn't want you to loose your skill in the event it's ever needed," he stated choosing his words carefully, following her out of the room. She nodded her head slowly.

"I'll see you at dinner, ok?" she called over her shoulder, attaching her quiver to her belt.

"Of course," he nodded, walking down another hall, "Don't push yourself too hard."

She rolled her eyes, and mumbled to herself, "I'm shooting arrows. How exausting does he think it can be? I stand still the entire time."

"Who are you talking to?" Celeste jumped and spun around to see Nailah cocking her head at her.

"Uh...no one. I do that sometimes," she smiled sheepishly before asking politly, "Did you need something?"

She shrugged, "No. You just interest me."

"Really? How so?" the branded girl asked curiously.

"Just the way you act. I never would expect that you had heron blood running in your veins by the way you act," she mused, "Though I must admit, you certainly do walk like one."

"Really?" Celeste looked down at her feet as she took a few steps, and the wolf laguz chuckled.

"It's a very subtle thing, not quite the same, but I can see the resemblence."

"I never noticed...In fact, I don't think anyone has," Celeste shrugged, "Who knew?"

Nailah looked strangly at the girl's bow, and got closer to see it a bit better. She brushed her finger over some small scratches that looked like teeth marks. It took Celeste a moment to remember where they had come from.

"Are there wolf laguz here?" the taller woman questioned curiously.

"No. That's from Aiden. He lives in Crimea I think," she smiled fondly to herself. She hadn't realized she had been using this bow since the war, "Danny said he was teething. Do wolf laguz toddlers normally do that?"

"Wolf laguz _pups_," Nailah correctedk, "And yes, some do. They tend to be the better fighters when they get older for one reason or another. Who's Danny?"

"His adoptive mother. She's a member of the raven laguz tribe, and an old friend of myself, Ticara, and Muarim."

The wolf queen shrugged slightly, "You seem to get along well with laguz."

Celeste simply nodded, "I suppose. Never managed to be friends with everyone, but I try...though there are a _few _exceptions."

Nailah raised an eyebrow at her, and she glared back as the wolf laguz chuckled again, which only made her laugh more. Finally the branded girl just chose to ignore her.

"You're a good kid," Nailah shook her head, patting Celeste on the shoulder.

"I'm not a kid," the forest-haired girl huffed.

"Younger than me."

"Yes but...you're a laguz. That doesn't count!"

Nailah shook her head, smirking. By now they had reached a safe courtyard and garden. Celeste took a deep breath, smiling softly. It was normally pretty peacful out here, and today was no exception.

"It was nice talking to you," she waved to Nailah, again acting pleasent and polite, as she headed toward her favorite tree. The wolf queen nodded, and headed off in another direction.

Celeste found her target, an old maple tree she had named Jason. Occasionally, if she was in a bad mood, she would give him the name of the person responsible for making her that way. She would take one of his leaves and use a tack to attach it to his trunk. She would then see if she could split the leaf in half from varying distances and angles. Again, if she was upset, she had a tendency to doodle a little face on the leaf.

She pulled back the bowstring, and postitioned herself. But just as she was about to release the arrow...

"Boo!"

She squeaked, and nearly let go of the bow string, but many years of practice and battle kept her hands fairly steady. She glared at Ranulf over her shoulder.

"Aw. No matter how hard I try, I can never mak you shoot an arrow anywhere but the tree," he pouted, "It's so boring."

She turned to face him, arrow still loaded, "You know, moving targets provide much better practice. Would that be more interesting?"

"Ah," he paled ever so slightly, "As much as I'd _love_ to help you improve your aim, I'll have to pass this time."

"You sure?" she smirked, lowering her weapon some.

"Yeah," he stretched, "I'm sure. Your desert buddies were looking for you, by the way."

"Oh, um. Well, could you tell them I'm out here?"

"Right away," he saluted and dashed away. Celeste shook her head with a small chuckle. She then turned back to Jason to get in as much practice as she could before they got here. They still had plent of catching up to do.

* * *

Frog: Yeah. Kind of boring. But it's another one of those filler chapters that really has no point but to get some annoying plot stuff out of the way. But the Griel mercenaries return next chapter! Hopefully that's something to look forward to. And because it was brought up, I'll say something about the pairings. Unless otherwise requested, several of the pairings from the first story will probably stay the same. The ones with Celeste, Danny, and Ticara are the only ones set in stone right now. Those and NepheneexRanulf. So basically, anything else (so long as it's guyxgirl) that you suggest can be put into the story as well if there's a particular pairing you like.

But there I go rambling on and on agian. I'll try to update sooner. Summer is almost here! Please review! Bye!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Fire Emblem.

Frog: Took me a little longer to get this up than I thought, so sorry about that. Anyways, Mia returns this chapter! Yay! It takes place basically during the very very beginning of Ike's part of the game (You know, where Ranulf shows up and tells them about the upcoming war). It's been awhile since I was at this part of the game, so I may get a few things wrong plot wise starting from about here. Hopefully nothing too major. And yes, I know I made some cliché jokes at the beginning. Anyways, I'll let you read now.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Celeste yawned, looking around the dark forest. Ranulf paused, and looked back at her.

"We aren't far. Another mile or two," he shrugged continuing onward.

"Finally," the branded girl sighed with relief.

The two of them were currently wondering through the forests of Crimea toward the base of the Greil mercenaries. The elusive group had finally made themselves known, so Ranulf had come to recruit them for the war the laguz were making against Begnion. Just to refresh your memory, Rafiel told everyone that the Begnion Senate was behind the Serenes Massacre, and aren't overly fond of the country as it is, so as you can imagine, they were very...eager to go kill some people.

Naturally, Celeste wanted to join the cat in the hat on this little expedition. And as expected, Reyson was very reluctant to let her. However, he knew that even if she was locked in a room with no windows, she would get out anyways, and go off on her own. Besides, they weren't facing any danger...yet. So here she was.

It had been a long walk, and she did feel a little bad for holding Ranulf up, but he never complained. He was just too nice to do something like that. Eventually they came to a clearing with a group of buildings atop the hill in the center.

"I'll go on ahead and take care of the boring stuff. Then you can show up," Ranulf instructed quietly, "Otherwise, we won't get anything done."

Celeste nodded, and he dashed ahead. She continued walking as leisurely as she could, humming a little tune as she went. When she finally reached the main building, it looked like Ranulf was about finished. It also looked like Ike...but he was so different she couldn't be sure. She leaned in the door frame, quietly inspecting how everyone had or hadn't changed.

Surprisingly, the first person to notice her was Soren. His eyes widened slightly, and she smirked at him with a wink. After blinking a few times, he smiled back, ever so faintly. A painfully loud squeal just about killed everyone in the room, and Celeste suddenly found herself slammed against the wall with Mia hugging her about as tightly if not mores so than Ticara had.

"Get off me, you," she hissed, narrowing her eyes.

Her friend gave her a startled look, and quickly backed off, looking sheepishly at her feet. Celeste brushed herself off a little, as everyone stared in complete silence.

Celeste then looked at Mia again, and tapped her chin, "If you hurt me, how will I be able to hug anyone else. Oh, and I love your hair by the way."

The swordmaster gave her a look before smirking. They both burst out laughing, and embraced each other tightly. A collectively held breath was released by the others in the room.

"It's so good to see you again!" Mist chimed, joining the hug.

"You too! Looks like you've grown a few inches," she smiled, putting a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder. She then turned to her former commander, "And you...what happened? Did you die and possess another man's body or something?"

Ike looked a bit confused, "...No."

She giggled, "I'm kidding. It's wonderful to see you again sir," she saluted.

He shook his head, chuckling, "I see your sense of humor hasn't changed much."

"Always a good sign," Boyd sighed sarcastically, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

"I missed you too," Celeste chimed brightly, and then turned to his younger brother, "Aw. You and Mist are both growing up so fast!"

"We're a lot stronger too," Rolf beamed proudly, standing up taller.

She hugged him, laughing, "Well I'm not surprised. You're a little prodigy," she glanced at the other two younger mercenaries, Mist and Soren, "Not to put you guys down. I'm just more bow inclined."

"It's fine," Mist smiled, "We understand."

"So I take it you don't get lances?" Gatrie bellowed, cocking his head, and holding his lance proudly.

"Do you _honestly_ think I would? I would have trouble lifting that thing," she shook her head.

He shrugged, "Yeah, you're pretty scrawny."

Celeste glared at him, and turned to Oscar and Rhys, "At least you two are nice to me," she ran over and hugged them both, "I missed you. There aren't enough nice people in the world. Especially in Gallia."

"What about me?" Ranulf whimpered, sticking out his lower lip.

She sighed heavily putting her hands on her hips, "Haven't we been over this? From now on, just assume you're the only exception to anything negative I say about beast laguz or their country."

"I'm touched. Thank you," he put a hand over his heart.

"You're welcome. Now who else have I not hugged yet," the branded girl's eyes scanned the room, "Titania!"

The red haired woman laughed, and returned her embrace, "So I take it Gallia has been an...interesting experience?"

"You have _no _idea. But it's better than Pheonicis," she looked around some more, "Oo! I haven't said hi to Shiny yet!"

"Don't touch me!" Shinon hissed as she came toward him. She pouted for a moment before extending her hand to him.

"Hand shake?" she cocked her head innocently. He gave her a suspicious look, hesitating before he finally took it. Of course, she took the opportunity to pull him into a hug. The older sniper let out a heavy breath.

"I guess I should have expected this," he mumbled, waiting as patiently as possible for her to let go.

"There! Now I've officially greeted everyone!" Celeste beamed, clasping her hands together after releasing him.

Titania gasped, "Celeste, what's that on your hand?"

The branded girl immediately hid her hands behind her back, "Huh?" she pretended to be completely oblivious.

The paladin came closer, putting her hands on her hips with a faint smirk, "Let me see."

Celeste took out her right hand, and investigated in closely, "I don't see anything."

"Other hand," Titania prompted.

The shorter girl grinned slightly, and slowly removed her left hand from behind her back, displaying the ring. The other girls in the room gasped, as did Boyd and Rolf.

"Oh, you mean this little thing?" Celeste grinned, "Reyson gave to me."

Mia squealed with joy again, and hugged her, "I can't believe you're getting married!!"

"Neither can I," Boyd muttered dryly, and chuckled, "Reyson must truly be angelic to be willing to put up with you as his wife."

Celeste stuck her tongue out at him, "You're just jealous."

He snorted indignantly, "You wish!"

"Ha! The girl who wishes to marry you, will have to be even more angelic than Reyson. In addition to being blind and maybe depth," Mia smirked.

"Hey! That was kind of uncalled for, don't you think?" he scowled.

"Mmm. No," the swordmaster shrugged. He glowered at her.

"At least things don't seem to have changed much since I've been gone," Celeste chuckled, changing the subject.

"Yes, unfortunately," Ike sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Still, we are glad to have you fighting with us again."

"I'm glad to be fighting period," she sighed, "But I'd rather be with you guys than anyone else."

"Well duh! That's a given!" Mia rolled her eyes dramatically, "Who _wouldn't _want to fight with us? We're awesome!!"

"And we always win!" Gatrie added.

"That's kind of what I meant when I said we're "awesome"."

"Oh."

"Anyways, we should have a big reunion party," Mia stated as though she thought everyone felt the same.

"Why?" Ranulf frowned, "Celeste and I are the only ones here."

"Ranulf my dear," the swordmaster sighed, waving a finger, "_Any _excuse to have a party is a good one," her face brightened drastically, "And my bestest friend ever has returned. That's all the more reason to celebrate!"

"I agree!" Gatrie grinned.

"You just want an excuse to get drunk," Mist scolded.

"So?" he raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't think we can afford to celebrate in such a manner at the time," Soren stated as plainly as ever, "If we're to be helping the laguz soon, we should start packing."

"Aw. But we just got back," Boyd whined, slumping forward.

"Everyone get a good night's rest for now," Ike ordered, "We'll worry about preparations tomorrow."

"You can stay in the girls' room with us," Mia beamed, hooking Celeste's arm with her own.

"Yeah, we have an extra bed," Mist added.

"Ok," Celeste shrugged, following them down the hall as Ike and the others took care of finding Ranulf a place to sleep.

"So what's it like to be engaged?" Mist asked excitedly.

Celeste smiled wistfully, "To be honest, I hardly notice the difference. Although I suppose now we talk about wedding ideas as opposed to other things...and lots of people are suddenly trying to offer you advice."

"I hope I'll get married someday," Mist sighed happily, falling back onto her bed. Mia frowned.

"This war must really be disrupting your wedding plans," she gave her friend a sympathetic look, "This is your bed, by the way."

"Thanks," the sniper set her small bag of necessities down on the blankest, and began untying her old worn, combat boots, "Well we didn't have too many plans before all this, so it doesn't affect much."

"Maybe, but still," Mia shook her head.

"This war hopefully won't last too long," Mist reassured, sliding under her covers.

"Are you girls all situated?" Titania asked kindly, entering the room.

"Yep. Thanks again for letting me sleep in here," Celeste stretched.

"Any time," the older woman shook her head, and began removing her armor, "It must have been a long trek here. You should be sleeping."

The branded girl shrugged, and nodded in agreement before crawling into bed, "Goodnight."

"Night," Mia yawned. Mist and Titania also said goodnight. Soon they were all sound asleep.

* * *

The next day was very busy. People were running every which way, trying to get ready as quickly as possible so they could be on their way. For the most part, Ranulf and Celeste watched everyone lazily. They only helped when asked, really. Hey! It's not like they knew where anything went. They would need more help than they were offering. Of course, there was a _very small _part of them that would rather do nothing anyways, and just let the others do all the work.

"We have it too easy in Gallia," Celeste commented, shaking her head in amusement. The cat laguz gave her a look out of the corner of his eye.

"_You _might. I have to deal with Lyre and Kyza everyday," he muttered.

"They aren't bad by themselves," Celeste paused realizing what she said, "Well...at least Kyza isn't. But they're still worse when you put them together."

Boyd walked by, holding a strange contraption in his hands. Celeste looked at it and looked at it, but couldn't make out what it was. It resembled a tiny bow attached to a stick. It even had itty-bitty arrows.

"What's that?" she finally asked, staring at the object curiously as she followed him.

"What? This?" he lifted the thing a a little and she rolled her eyes.

"No, I was referring to that thing you call a face, she crossed her arms, "Of course I'm talking about that."

"It's called a bowgun," he answered simply, "I've been practicing with it. It's easier to use than an actual bow."

"Really now?" she raised an eyebrow, "The real thing just proved to be too hard for your little brain to handle?"

"I didn't say that!" he snapped.

"Maybe not directly, but that's the impression I got."

"Hey, I can't be thinking about _how far do I pull the bowstring back? _in the middle of a battle!...And I certainly don't need my little brother nagging me about every little way I mess up."

"That's too bad," Celeste sighed, shaking her head, "You had so much potential. Oh well."

"We tried," Rolf finished, coming up behind them, "He's just a lost cause."

"Sadly," the two green-haired snipers shared a glance, and then broke into a fit of laughter. Boyd just sighed and glared at them.

"You two are the lost causes," he muttered.

"We could be," Rolf shrugged.

"I guess we're all lost then," Celeste agreed, "Anybody got a map?"

Boyd rolled her eyes, and walked away...right into a wall. Celeste and Rolf snickered behind him, and he glared before continuing on his way.

"He does need a map," Rolf agreed, chuckling.

"So I take it you're more confident with your weapon now?" Celeste turned toward him, smiling fondly. He nodded, straightening up proudly.

"Yep! Maybe I'll even be better than you someday," he teased.

She stuck her tongue out at him before shrugging, "You're probably right. Actually, you've had more practice than me lately, so you're most likely _are_ better."

"Are you as good as Shinon?" he asked curiously. She couldn't help but grimace.

"Maybe at one time I was, but as I said, I haven't had any practice over the past few years...Don't let him know I said that, though."

"That's too bad," Rolf nodded before giving her a reassuring grin, "But you'll get better. It'll all come back to you before you know it."

Celeste giggled, ruffling his hair, "Aw, thanks."

"You're welcome," he beamed, "I should get back to packing. Bye!"

She waved as he also took off down the hall. He was still the same sweet little boy she remembered. Just a few inches taller and much more confident in his abilities. He also was now an expert at annoying Boyd. She couldn't help but feel proud of him.

"There you are!" Mia sighed in exasperation.

Celeste smiled at her, "Good morning, Mia."

"Morning," she muttered tiredly, shaking her head and rubbing her neck, "I can't believe we're going to be sleeping in tents again."

"Oh it won't be that bad," Celeste laughed, "At least we don't have to hear Janaff snoring this time."

"True," the swordmaster chuckled, "Speaking of which, how are the old bird brains?"

"Janaff and Ulki are doing fine, from what I've heard. It's been months since I saw them last."

"And how's Reyson doing?" her friend asked, in an almost teasing childish tone.

"He's doing well. So are Leanne and Rafiel. I think they like it in Gallia for the most part."

"And...how are you _and _Reyson doing?" the other girl smirked. her friend raised an eyebrow at her.

"And _that's _supposed to mean what?"

"Oh nothing," Mia looked up innocently, "If it's too personal, you don't have to tell me."

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Celeste snuffed with a deadly glare. Of course, she wasn't about to just let Mia get away with those comments, "Have you seen Naesala lately?"

"No! Of course not!" her friend snapped defensively.

"Have you seen him in your dreams?" the sniper smirked cruelly.

"What?!" Mia squeaked.

"Alright. You don't have to tell me if it's too personal," Celeste waved her hand dismissively.

"Why you..." the swordmaster lunged, causing her to yelp before running away down the hall, Mia close behind.

They came to the main room where most of the others were gathered. Celeste ducked behind Ike, using him as a wall between herself and her raging best friend.

"Ike! Move!" Mia demanded curtly, her words clipped. Their commander looked back and forth between the two girls, unsure of what to do other than whatever possible to not get involved.

"Reyson will be mad if you hurt me," Celeste warned.

The swordmaster snorted indignantly, "And what's Reyson going to do? Glare me to death?"

She went after Celeste again, and the sniper barely darted away to Gatrie, and smirked, "He'll send Tibarn after you."

"Tibarn! Ha! I'm not afraid of him!" Mia snuffed.

"I dare you to say that to his face," her friend laughed, easily escaping again, and now using Boyd as her shield.

The swordmaster's face paled slightly, "H-he's not here right now. He can't come after me."

"Then how about Skrimir? He's much closer, so I could send him after you."

"Skrimir? Who on Tellius is that?" Mia put her hands on her hips before trying and failing to catch the other girl again.

"The supposed next king of Gallia," Celeste shrugged, "Personally, I think he looks like the world's biggest hairball. There are seriously other animals living in that mane of his."

Ranulf tried not to snicker, and Celeste dodged once more. This time into the kitchen. Mia was panting by now, and glared at her as the sniper climbed onto a shelf out of her friend's reach.

"How did you get so fast?" she snapped, breathing heavily.

"If you ever steal that ribbon around Lethe's neck, you'll learn _real _quick, trust me."

They both froze upon hearing a cracking sound, and Celeste cautiously looked down at the shelf she was sitting on. Unable to hold her weight, it broke, and she fell to the floor with a shriek, her back hitting the counter below as her feet hit the ground. She groaned, and slumped to the floor, rubbing her spine. Mia walked over, and looked down at her disapprovingly.

"Reyson will be mad if you hurt yourself," she mocked.

"That's gonna leave a mark," Celeste's breath came in a pained hiss.

"You ok, Celeste?" Ranulf asked, grinning as he came up next to Mia.

"I'm fine," she muttered, standing up.

Rhys entered the room, looking worried. He looked at each of them and the broken shelf, guessing what had happened, and rushed over to a large bowl of clean water. He filled a glass, and added a few drops of vulnerary to it before handing it to her.

"Drink this. It will keep you from bruising too badly," he instructed softly. She nodded her thanks, and quickly drank the medicine. It didn't taste very good, but she already felt less sore.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Ike asked, poking his head in the door.

Mia looked around, "I think so."

"Good," their commander left, and they heard him in the next room telling everyone it was time to move out.

"And so the march begins," Celeste muttered dryly, stepping outside into the morning sunlight.

"Aw. It's not that bad," Mia smiled, "Just think of it this way; you have _me _to keep you company!"

"Though I think you're something we all wish we could just leave behind," Boyd smirked.

"Don't even go there," the swordmaster warned.

"This is going to be a _long _day," Rolf sighed heavily, hanging his head.

"And the best part, this is only the beginning," Celeste chuckled lightly.

* * *

Frog: Yay, all done with that chapter. The next chapter is the first battle of Ike's campaign (for which I am having horrible writer's block). So their will be some action. It's not likely to be a long chapter, but hopefully that's ok. Anyways, thank you everyone who has continued reading this story. I'll update as soon as I write up the next chapter. Please review! Bye!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Fire Emblem, just my OCs.

Frog: Yay! I managed to get this up before I left today! But sorry it took so long, and that the chapter is kind of short and uneventful. But it is the prologue to Ike's part of the game anyways, so not much was happening then (well, not much you could see anyways). There's some stuff in this chapter that will hint at things I'm planning to put in future ones. But that's about all. I'll try to do better next chapter.

* * *

"As much as I enjoy a good skirmish, I would still rather be in bed right now," Mia yawned tiredly, slumping forward. They had been walking since early morning, and now it was long after dark and they were preparing for battle.

"To be completely honest, I'm actually too nervous to be tired," Celeste mused, idly plucking her bowstring. Her friend looked at her and noticed her hands were were shaking.

"Why? The Gallians will be taking care of most of the enemies," the swordmaster raised an eyebrow, "You've never been nervous about battle before."

"I know. I just...haven't fought _at all _in the past few years," she shook her head, chuckling in amusement at herself, "I feel like such a rookie."

"Don't worry. It'll all come back to you," Oscar reassured, patting her on the shoulder.

"I certainly hope so," Celeste sighed heavily.

"Aw. Look on the bright side," Mia giggled, "Reyson isn't here to ask if you're ok every ten minutes."

"I guess I should enjoy that while I still can," her friend laughed with her.

"Shh!" Soren hissed. The two quickly shut their mouths. This _was _supposed to be a sneak attack.

"Oh, and Mia," Celeste grabbed her friend's shoulder from behind, and turned her toward the laguz army, "_That's _Skrimir."

"You mean the fuzzy one, right?"

Celeste nodded, and Mia cocked her head at the lion laguz a few seconds. They then shrugged, and returned to the group.

Soon they were on their way through the dark forest. They ran into very few enemies, though they could hear the raging laguz on the other side of the trees. Celeste gasped in delight when she saw the ballista.

"Me first!" she called to Shinon and Rolf before hurrying over to the giant-sized bow.

Now, Celeste had never actually operated one of these before, but she didn't care. It didn't look too hard. She messed with the contraption a bit, and then shot a bolt over the trees. She smirked in satisfaction as she heard the cry of a fire sage in pain. She _liked _this weapon.

But all too soon, her ammunition ran out, and Shinon had already taken the other ballista, so she had to go back to using her regular bow. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Soon they had reunited with the Gallian army, many members of which had reverted to their normal form. However, they didn't do a very good job of staying out of the way, especially Skrimir, so Mist and Rhys were kept kind of busy.

"Your Gallian friends kind of scare me," Mia shook her head, as other members of their team took care of the enemy commander, "Especially the really fluffy one."

"Skrimir," Celeste corrected, "And they aren't necessarily my friends. I've only seen about a third of them before, and have actually met even fewer."

"Let me guess, you don't get out much because of Reyson," Mia sighed.

"Yeah," the sniper shook her head, "I kind of understand , though. Most laguz aren't too fond of the branded."

"Her friend shrugged, and then got a surprised look on her face, "You mean Reyson actually found something _worth _worrying about?"

"Mia!" Celeste chuckled.

"I'm kidding. Seriously, you're lucky to have someone like him."

"Aw. Poor Mia still doesn't have a boyfriend," Celeste pretended to feel bad for her friend, "Don't worry. I'll help you."

"No thanks. I don't trust you enough to let you control my love life," the swordmaster crossed her arms.

"It's _only _fair," the green haired girl teased, "You _were _the one responsible for us meeting."

"No, you did that fine by yourself. I'm just responsible for your first kiss, and turning an awkward moment into an embarrassing one."

"What's the difference?" the sniper raised an eyebrow.

"An embarrassing situation you can respond to, while an awkward situation you can only stutter if talk at all," Mia answered proudly.

"You're a genius, my friend," Celeste just shook her head at the other girl's beaming face.

Skrimir's booming "_speech"_, or whatever that was, drew their attention back to the others. Soon they were setting up tents just outside the small town. Celeste and Mia were sharing a tent, once again.

"It looks so...empty..." Mia sighed heavily with a frown.

"I know..." Celeste rolled out her mat, "But we don't have to share with anyone since Gallia brough so many tents."

"Why _did _they do that anyways? It doesn't seem very useful to have so much extra space."

"Well this way the Pheonician and Kilvan armies can travel lighter," Celeste explained.

Mia perked up, "You mean...Janaff and Ulki will be coming too?"

"Yep!"

Her friend grinned brightly, "Do you think they'll want to share a tent with us again?"

The forest-haired girl shrugged, "I hope so. But we may have to force Janaff to move in with us."

"We can just tell Reyson to order him to stay with us, then," Mia answered simply with a shrug of her own.

Celeste nodded in agreement, looking at the small fire they had going in the tent's center, "Then the only person that will be missing is Danny."

"Yeah..." the swordmaster laid down, putting her hands behind her head, "But she might show up. You never can tell with her."

"True."

"And maybe she'll bring Aiden with her!"

"If she does come, I'm quite sure she will," Celeste giggled.

"Do you think we could squeeze anyone else in here after that?"

"Like who?"

"I don't know. Just in case we make more friends."

"Hm," Celeste tried to envision other bed mats, "Perhaps. It depends on how big they are."

"Aw shoot," Mia pouted.

"What?"

"That means Tibarn wouldn't be able to stay with us."

The sniper gave her a weird look, "Why on Tellius would you want _him _in here?"

"Well," her friend got a mischievous smirk on her face, "Assuming Danny _does _show up, it would be very interesting to see if they could actually get along if forced to stay in the same tent!"

"As amusing as that _could _be, I wouldn't feel safe in a tent with those two. Blood could be spilt."

"I don't think it would get that far, unless Danny scratched him with her nails," Mia mused, "But as you said, there probably isn't room for him, and I don't feel like kicking anyone else out just so I can entertain myself."

Celeste nodded, "This tent is going to be _pretty _boring for awhile..."

"Normally, I would take offence to that, but this time, I agree," Mia sighed, rolling onto her stomach, "We're going to get tired of just laughing at each other, after all."

"Where's Janaff when you need him," Celeste giggled and her friend joined her. They fell into silence for a few minutes before the swordmaster spoke again.

"You know, I've had trouble sleeping in tents since that war..."

"I must admit, it does feel...odd..." the other girl sighed heavily, "It isn't stuffy enough in here..."

"And it doesn't smell at all like Janaff," Mia added.

"I don't feel like Ulki is staring at me for no reason..."

"I feel like i can actually roll over without bumping into someone..."

"Janaff isn't complaining about Aiden; and Aiden is complaining about Janaff..."

"And Danny isn't telling us to shut up and go to sleep..."

Celeste paused briefly in their reminising before scolding, "Mia, be quiet! It's time for bed!"

"Huh?" her friend gave her a strange look out of the corner of her eye.

The sniper shrugged, "Just trying to help. Do you feel like you can sleep now?"

A relaxed, but huge grin spread across the purple haired girl's face, and her eyes closed partway, "You know what? I think it actually worked! Thanks. Oh, and sorry I can't impersonate Janaff and Aiden."

"It's fine," Celeste giggled, "I'm not sure I want to hear that or not."

"Do you think we'll be able to stay asleep for long without hearing Janaff snoring?" Mia asked, closing her eyes and yawning again.

"I don't know about you, but I'll be fine. You do a pretty good job of recreating _that_ from what I've heard."

"Ha, ha. Very funny," Mia snorted, "I can't wait till tomorrow..."

"Didn't I tell you to go to sleep?" Celeste chided, and her friend choked back a laugh.

"You're not my mother!" she whined in a little voice.

"Maybe not, but I'm more important than you, because _I'm _engaged to royalty. So you must do as I say!"

"Whatever," the swordmaster sneered, flicking her wrist in a dismissive gesture. Celeste chuckled again, and closed her eyes as well. Soon the two were both sound asleep.

* * *

Frog: Glad that's over with. Future chapters should be better, because this is just one of those parts where you don't know what to do since you have so much planned for other chapters. Hopefully I'll be able to update again when I get back. Oh, and by the way, Volke _must _have a pairing (with a girl). It won't really be an issue until the end of the story, but if I wait too long there might not be any girls left. Just any time between now and the next four or so chapters would be nice, if you have a suggestion for who he should be with. And so far for other pairings I guess I have RolfxMist (unless I misunderstood something, which I often do) now too. So I'll try to work that in somewhere along the way. But I'm rambling, as usual. So please review, and thanks for putting up with me. Bye!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Fire Emblem.

Frog: I hate chapters like this. It's very similar to the last one, battle-wise, so I didn't describe that part much (I also lost my guidebook with all it's helpful maps). Filler chapters are always hard, so this is going to be kind of short. Thankfully, more characters start coming in so I have more to work with for future chapters. Once again, I'm so truly sorry this took longer than I thought it would. In other news, I think I'll do the drawing out of a hat next chapter for Volke's pairing. So far I have Heather, Titania, Pegasus Knight (I interpret that as Tanith, Sigrun, or generic knight), and Lucia. So unless there is an overwhelming vote for one of them in particular, I'll be doing that next chapter.

_73ayay—_I don't know. They just struck me as the kind of people that would be excited to have all their friends back in the same tent again. But I might change it up later.

_Sonic Phantom—_I hadn't thought of that yet (I don't know why, but I'm always forgetting Heather it seems). But thank you for giving me an idea of something to write about!

_WildfireDreams—_I like RolfxMist, but that's just me. If you have a suggestion for someone else to pair Boyd with, you can let me know if you want. Besides, these pairings are just little things in the story that give me something to write about as we go along.

* * *

"Is it really a good idea to send your little sister into an enemy fortress?" Celeste asked skeptically as they lay in wait for Mist and the two cat laguz to return.

"Lethe and Lyre are with her. I'm sure she'll be fine. See? Here they come now," Ike pointed to three cloaked figures coming their way. Celeste shrugged. While it had worked, she still had found Soren's plan a bit odd . But maybe that was to be expected. What did she know about tactics?

"Mia," she pulled her best friend over to the two cat laguz women as they were headed into the now nearly defenseless town, "This is my self proclaimed wedding planner, Lyre. Lyre this is my best friend ever, Mia."

"Wedding planner huh?" the swordmaster rubbed her chin before grinning, "Can I help?"

Lyre blinked, "Ah, sure," her face broke into a smile, "But _I'm _still in charge of it. You can be my assistant!"

Mia raised an eyebrow at her, "Will I get paid?"

"Uh...we'll see," Lyre winked at her. The swordmaster nodded, accepting that answer for now. Celeste just rolled her eyes, and hoped that her idea would work (she wasn't Soren, as we all know, and so her plans didn't always come out right). Hopefully the two of them would get into bickering over planning the wedding, and she would gladly take care of the event herself...mostly.

Once again, they were fighting in the dark with only a torch or two to give them any light. Celeste stayed behind her friends with Rolf and Shinon. They had to finish this battle quickly to make sure they didn't find themselves cornered by reinforcements. Fortunately, the battle was mostly uneventful, just a few cuts and bruises. Lethe and Lyre helped a lot, and they were already an experienced group, so no one got seriously injured.

Soon they were able to let the Gallian army in through the gates, and another battle was over and done with. They set up camp, and almost everyone went straight to bed. But as always, there were exceptions.

"Aren't you tired _yet_?" Mia asked with a long yawn, watching Celeste out of the corner of her half closed eye. A few others around the fire pit glance up, since no one else had been speaking.

"You can go on ahead to the tent. I'll be there soon," the forest-haired girl sighed as she stared at the flickering flames.

"Ok then," Mia muttered tiredly, standing up and wandering off in their tent's general direction.

"Is something wrong Celeste? You almost _never _stay up this late," Ranulf frowned in concern.

"So you _have _grown lazy. I thought so," Shinon sighed bitterly, crossing his arms. Celeste just gave him a look.

"The less stress you have, the longer you'll live. Or at least that's what Lyre keeps telling me whenever I catch her slacking off. She's kind of a hypocrite, though," Celeste mused.

"Who says I'm stressed?" Shinon raised an eyebrow at her.

"No one, I just know. You see if I had to wake up and see that face in the mirror every morning, I'd be stressed too," the female sniper smirked. He just glared at her, like he always did. Some things never changed no matter how many years went by.

"I see it's still nearly impossible for you two to get along?" Oscar chuckled.

"We get along sometimes," everyone gave her a strange look as though they thought maybe she had been absent from her own body, so she explained, "You can't really not get along with someone if you're nowhere near them. I'd say Shinon and I have been getting along wonderfully these past few years. We haven't had any arguments, or annoyed each other at all."

"Those were the days," Shinon shook his head tiredly.

"I'd say "yep" but then I would be agreeing with you."

"We can't have that happening, now can we," Titania giggled, with a sigh. Shinon just rolled his eyes.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be in my tent," he muttered, walking away.

"Goodnight!" Celeste called after him, waving. He simply ignored her, as was probably best.

After awhile, the small group around the fire began to shrink as others went to their tents as well. Celeste wasn't the last to leave, but she took her time returning to her tent as she lost herself in a variety of thoughts.

It was strange, not having Reyson around. She had to admit, she kind of missed him always checking on her. Still, she figured it wouldn't be long until he joined up with this group. He would probably arrive with the bird tribes. She missed Leanne, too. The heron princess was always so bright and friendly, able to cheer anyone up. It was strange not seeing her everyday. She even missed Nealuchi, and how he would often cackle to himself, seemingly for no reason. At least she still had Ranulf here. And Lyre was there as well, and for once not being an annoyance.

Mia was already sleeping soundly when she opened the tent flap, so she quietly slid onto her bed mat and under her covers. It was plenty warm here, but she still liked to have a blanket covering her, unlike her friend who was using hers as an extra cushion. Celeste soon joined her in dream land.

The next morning was somewhat lazy. They were in no hurry to leave at the moment it seemed, much to Skrimir's chagrin. And just as they were about to leave, Celeste saw some faces that looked familiar. She got closer to a different looking tent, and gasped.

"Ilyana?" she hurried over, having to make sure she was right. The slender girl turned and smiled, though she still looked tired as ever.

"Celeste! I was hoping you'd be here!" the two girls embraced tightly. The merchants nearby paused, and smiled a bit before going back to work.

"I can hardly believe this!" the sniper squealed, "What are you doing out here? Weren't you in Daein?"

"Ike asked us to help. We brought others too," the lilac haired girl pointed at some other people not far away.

"Are you serious?" Celeste laughed, and hugged her old friend again.

"Go ahead," Ilyana waved her hand in an attempt at a dismissive gesture, "You have plenty of other people to say hello to."

"Ilyana!?"

Celeste glanced up at where Mia was headed their way, full speed, and giggled, "So do you."

Ilyana giggled, and waved as the forest-haired girl walked away toward a small crowd of people, and Mia caught the thunder sage up and a rib-crushing hug (how Ilyana survived, we may never know). Celeste spotted Haar first (many members of their army were greeting the newcomers as well), but he looked like he was sleeping, as usual, so she continued onward, accidentally bumping into someone.

"Excuse me," the blond woman apologized politely with a smile.

"Hm? Oh, it's fine," Celeste shrugged, "Uh, who are you?"

"I'm Heather," the woman offered to shake her hand, "I'm a little new, if you haven't noticed."

"My name's Celeste," she greeted, nodding her head.

"Celeste," the woman repeated, tapping her chin, "That's a lovely name. Oh! And I _love_ your boots."

Celeste gave her an odd look, "Uh...thanks...your's are nice too."

"Why thank you! Now if you will excuse me, I must be going," she sauntered away, waving at Celeste over her shoulder. The sniper gave a half-wave back, before looking for more old friends. But one of them found her first.

"Celeste! That you?" she turned to see none other than Brom, grinning from ear to ear, as she was so used to seeing him.

"Brom! I'm so glad you came too," she hugged him, and he laughed heartily.

"We thought it'd be nice to help our friends out some," he nodded, and she smiled brightly.

"So who else did you bring?" she asked curiously, cocking her head.

"Well Nephenee's right behind ya," he pointed, and she spun around, giving the teal-haired girl a hug as well.

"Hey there, Celeste," Nephenee smiled warmly once released from the embrace, "You look good."

"You too. How have you guys been doing in Crimea?"

"Just fine," Brom shrugged, "Had a rebellion issue to take care of, but all's fine now."

"I haven't seen you guys in so long. I really should do a better job of keeping in touch with people," Celeste mused with a small sigh.

"Well it'll be a lot easier now that we're all in the same army again," Nephenee pointed out. Celeste laughed, and let some others of their companions say hello.

"Aunt Celly!" a small squeal came from her side. She turned just in time for a little boy with a big fluffy tail to jump into her arms and wrap his tiny arms around her neck, "I love you."

"Aiden?" she pulled the small world laguz away just enough so she could see him properly.

"Hi Aunt Celly," he waved, grinning brightly. She giggled, and gave him a quick hug. If he was here then that meant...

"Danny!" she waved excitedly, still holding the small boy in her arms to get his mother's attention. The magpie looked up from what appeared to be searching for said child, and her face lit up as she came closer.

"Haven't seen you in some time," she chuckled, hugging Celeste despite her son being there.

"Yeah. I should have come and visit," the sniper sighed, setting Aiden down. He looked up at her adoringly before scampering off elsewhere. Danny looked on after him for a moment, debating on whether or not she should follow him.

"Reyson probably wouldn't have let you without a bulky escort," she mused, shaking her head, "Don't worry about it," something seemed to catch her eye, and she gasped, "My eyes spy something spark-ely," she chimed, taking hold of Celeste's hand, and inspected the ring closely.

"Is that what I think it is?" someone mused, looking over her shoulder. She jumped to see Haar peering at the ring. He patted her on the shoulder with a small grin, "Guess so. Congrats."

"Um, thank you. Did you have a nice nap?"

"Yep," he nodded, still looking a bit tired, and walked away.

"Ah, Danny? A little help?" another voice called, this one Celeste didn't recognize. She looked over to see a boy with orange hair and a yellow cape coming their way with Aiden chewing on what appeared to be a tome he was holding.

"Aiden, stop that. He's going to need it," the magpie crooned, taking her son gently from the magic user, "Celeste, this is Lantose. Calill's nephew."

"Nice to meet you," Celeste greeted with a small smile. He managed a half grin back, and went to sit on some crates.

"Calill is tired of him loafing around her house, so she had me take him with me when I decided I was coming here," Danny explained quietly, "He isn't too happy about it."

Celeste giggled and shook her head. She wasn't surprised, somehow, at what Calill had done. Just looking at him you could tell he didn't go outside very much, and didn't look used to working. Was that ever going to change.

"So are you going to share a tent with Mia and myself?" Celeste asked casually.

"Mm..." Danny looked up in thought before smiling, "I would love to."

"Great! I'd show you where it is, but it kind of got packed up."

Danny chuckled, "Is there enough room for Aiden too?"

"Yep! There's even enough room for Janaff, Ulki, and Reyson when they finally decide to show up."

The magpie raised an eyebrow playfully at her, "Really? The whole gang again?."

"But of course!" Celeste decided to not mention that Mia had originally wanted Tibarn to move in too. It might not end well, "So are you going to fight with us?"

"No," Danny sighed as the two of them started walking off in a random direction to get out of people's way, "I'm not really cut out for it."

"Hm. So you're just going to help out with chores and whatnot?"

"Pretty much," she nodded, looking almost tired, "I needed to get out of Crimea anyways..."

"Why do you say that?" Celeste gave her friend a look of concern, "They don't bother you, do they?"

"Not...really..." Danny answered, seeming to choose her words carefully, "But...it is a beorc nation," she looked over at her son out of the corner of her eye, "With beorc expectations..."

Celeste wanted to ask what exactly she meant, but the army was ready to move, and she didn't want to make the laguz woman linger on thoughts that were upsetting. So she quickly changed the subject.

"Do you have any ideas to keep this certain friend of mine from making my wedding an international event?"

* * *

Frog: I hope that turned out well. And now I have more people to work with! And I _think _I have some ideas for next chapter, I just have to double check and make sure it's the right one. I'm really sorry this has been taking so long everyone one. I owe everyone who still reads this story a piece of chocolate cake or something.

Anyways, I made the people join this chapter, since that's what I guessed had basically happened when reading the game's script. If I'm wrong, sorry. I'm not going to make Heather interested in girls, just someone who acts kind of strange. I apologize if anyone doesn't like this, but I don't feel comfortable writing it. And thank goodness I found my guidebook, because I almost made Calill appear in this chapter, and she doesn't rejoin you until later. So yay for guidebook!

Thank you again if you're still reading, and for putting up with my ramblings! Please leave a review! Bye!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Fire Emblem.

Frog: Believe it or not, I'm still alive! College has just been a time-sucking leech since it started, and I'm soooooo sorry this took so unreasonably long. And I still have three other stories to update too... Why does life have to be so hectic? Anyways, thank you all that still read this despite my horrible timing. I ended up skipping the last chapter of the game because I quite simply couldn't think of enough to write, so I just make short mention of it this chapter. Hopefully this one is decently long, guess I'll just have to wait and see. And yay! The birds are back!

_Sonic Phantom_--Sure, I can use Heather. I wasn't originally planning to, but I don't have a problem with it. When I get the chance to work her in, I will.

_73ayay--_Shoot, I forgot to put the convoy in here. It's been so long since I've read the reviews, I didn't look at them again until this chapter was finished. I'll try to get more of them in next chapter.

_pebblekit_--I believe I sort of answered your question in PM, but since this is something that other readers might have questions about too. Yes, MiaxNaesala is still going to be a pairing, I just haven't decided if they will _officially _end up together at the end of the story or not. Knowing me, they probably will, but it's still mostly up in the air.

* * *

Much of the small army was congregated in the main mess hall tent, enjoying their breakfast. Baskets and bowls were arranged haphazardly along the center of the tables so that everyone had access to as much food as they needed. And they needed _a lot _of food, since most of the army consisted of beast laguz.

Celeste was the only one who was completely unfazed by this fact, seeing as she had been living and Gallia and Pheonicis the last few years. Everyone else's reaction to this was different. Mia merely found it interesting, and even humorous at times. Shinon had discovered that he couldn't even _mutter _"sub-human" since there was _always _someone around that would hiss. Ilyana actually had to fight for extra servings of food sometimes, and her tent was often searched by laguz convinced that she was pulling off some magic trick with all the food she ate. But they were yet to find any proof.

Danny had taken it upon herself to be Oscar's helper in the kitchen and the mess hall when everyone left. She would set the tables, and clean up after everyone, and had found that laguz were much _much _messier than beorc. Oscar was the main cook, and only had Mist, Rolf, and a couple laguz to help him. It was amazing how that man managed to feed them all and still have leftovers. Boyd was having a grand old time of it, enjoying being around people that didn't yell at him if he clumsily bumped into them or if he was too loud.

Aimee had become the most popular of the merchants simply because she was the only one the laguz needed to buy anything from. Heather had never spent this much time around any laguz until the uprising in Crimea, and this was a big jump even from that, and was a bit cautious around them due to her inexperience but was determined to learn what she could. Nephenee and Brom, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind the laguz at all. They were all soldiers in a war as far as the too were concerned, and got along well with them.

Gatire, as you may have guessed, flirted with everyone, but now his list of "pick-up" lines had lengthened to include such riveting phrases as "your ears look soft". Yeah, he was still single. In addition to cooking when she had the chance, Mist also assisted Rhys in the healer's tent. Both of them had learned that laguz were very stubborn when it came to medical treatment. They resisted staves unless they knew there was no other way, didn't see them using it, or were unconscious. They also made a big fuss when they had to drink a vulnerary outside of battle and would gag and spit and hiss all in show at how much they disliked it. Skrimir was by far the worst patient.

Ike was always perfect as can be to everyone. Seriously, you could be a _zombie_, and he wouldn't treat you any differently than anyone else so long as you were a "good guy". Titania often seemed to forget she was dealing with laguz, and was always correcting herself. And Soren pretty much wandered around camp with a look of disdain on his face, and you would normally find him holed up in his tent.

Aiden loved it, because he no longer had to beg for table scraps, he could just jump up there and eat what he wanted and no one would care. Well, except for his mother that is...

"Aiden, that's enough," Danny grabbed the little boy's hand as he reached for another pastry.

"But mommy," he whimpered. Unfortunately, puppy dog eyes didn't work on his mother.

"You've had enough sugar to last you all day, maybe even longer," the magpie scolded, "You don't need anymore."

A few laguz around the table chuckled as Aiden pouted and his mother set him back on the floor. He stalked off, back toward the kitchen area. Danny just shook her head and went back to cleaning.

"But isn't there food in the kitchen too?" Nephenee mused, looking back at her plate.

"There probably is, but he won't find it," Celeste shrugged, "Oscar made sure that no wolf laguz pups," she glanced down a few places to where Ilyana was munching happily, "Or thunder sages could get into the food stores."

Mia just looked at her funny, "Uh..._nothing _can keep _her _out of the pantry," she pointed with her thumb at the lilac haired girl.

"Hm?" Ilyana looked at all of them in confusion, brushing some crumbs off her chin.

"Ah...say Ilyana, would you like to help Lyre and I plan Celeste's wedding?"

Celeste slapped her for head, and the lilac haired girl blinked in confusion, "Um, sure, I guess. I don't know how much help I'll be..."

"Oh you'll be plenty of help! We need _you _to help us plan the menu!"

Ilyana's face brightened, "I can do that!"

"I can't believe this," Celeste muttered to herself, shaking her head. Nephenee gave her a sympathetic smile from across the table, even though the sniper doubted she had heard her.

Soon everyone had had their fill of breakfast, and the army began to prepare for the battles that were likely to take place that day. They had also gone off to battle a day or so before against some of the local lords, which was hardly a challenge. The only person that suffered any real injuries on their side was Boyd. But it hardly fazed him. That turned out to be a bad thing, however, because he wouldn't stop to get healed, and started to feel dizzy from blood loss. He received quite a lecture after that, but it probably didn't get much farther than his ears if even that much.

"You know, this kind of makes me miss the old days," Mia sighed, staring up at the sky.

"Which days are you referring to?" Heather asked curiously. She was developing a somewhat annoying habit of following people around, and prying into their business.

"The days where we fought for Crimea's liberation," the swordmaster shrugged, seeming to forget the their hadn't been there.

Celeste raised an eyebrow at her, "Why? I certainly don't long for that time."

"Well for one thing, we're fighting Begnion this time around. Not that I'm worried or anything, but they _are _more formidable that Daein was. And it's also kind of strange to be in the minority. You notice how laguz smell a lot easier when you're in a camp full of them. Come to think of it, I almost like it. So maybe this isn't too bad."

The sniper rolled her eyes, "You do realize we used to sleep in a tent full of them, don't you?"

"Yes but beast laguz smell different than bird laguz. I'm surprised you haven't noticed, seeing as you've lived in our tent, Pheonicis _and _Gallia."

"Maybe it's just not a big deal to her," Ilyana suggested.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Mia snickered, "Either that or she can't smell much of anything over her own scent."

"And what is _that _supposed to mean?" Celeste glowered at her, rising up from where she was sitting on a log.

"Uh-oh," Mist giggled (they were currently in a bit of an all girl group if you haven't noticed).

"_Exactly_ what you think it means," Mia smirked deviously.

"I don't smell that bad!" Celeste whined.

"Right..." her friend chortled.

"Don't let it bother you, Celeste," Mist laughed again as the sniper glared again, "We could _all _use a bath."

"Especially Boyd, Ike and Gatrie. They're the worst," Mia grimaced, plugging her nose to emphasize her point. The other girls chuckled.

Just then a large shadow passed over them, causing a few of the girls to jump. And who should land but a few yards away but Tibarn. He paid no attention to their startled looks, and went straight over to where Ike and Ranulf were talking.

"Did he come by himself?" Mia asked, scanning the overcast skies.

"That's odd..." Celeste shook her head. Weren't there supposed to be a whole army of bird laguz?

"Celeste!" Ike called, noticing her staring in their direction, "Would you please show King Tibarn to the mess hall?"

"Why me?" she pouted, but was standing up anyways. Tibarn rolled his eyes. She obviously hadn't changed much from what he remembered.

Ike, on the other hand, looked surprised, but he quickly pushed it aside, "Celeste, please."

"Fine," the sniper sighed in exasperation, and started walking. Tibarn didn't take long to catch up with her.

"Where's everyone else?" she asked hesitantly when she determined that he wasn't going to say anything.

"Coming," was his only reply, sounding a bit distracted.

"How soon?" she cocked her head. He just shrugged. Normally she would have asked if something was wrong, but this was Tibarn she was dealing with, and asking such things would get her nowhere, so she just let it be.

"Well, here we are," Celeste sighed again when they reached the tent, "Oscar and Danny should still be cleaning up. They'll help you."

"Danny!" Tibarn gave her a startled look.

"She cleans," she branded girl explained, and chuckled a bit, "Don't worry, I doubt she'll give you any trouble. At least not today."

"For her sake she had better not," Tibarn muttered under his breath, walking inside.

"King Tibarn! Welcome!" Oscar greeted warmly.

The king of Pheonicis nodded in acknowledgement before getting right to the point, "Got anything left to eat?"

"I think so. Danny?" the knight called.

"Yeah?" Danny stepped into view from the kitchen part of the tent, her arms full of empty or mostly empty baskets. She paled slightly when she saw Tibarn who gave her a cold look.

"Would you see what you can find for King Tibarn to eat?" Oscar asked pleasantly, seemingly oblivious to the sudden tension in the room.

"Sure. Just give me a sec," the magpie disappeared again. Oscar gave Tibarn a kind smile, and went back to sweeping the floors as the hawk king sat down at the nearest table.

"Hope this is enough," Danny sighed, forcing herself to be polite, "It's cold, though. I could try to warm it up if you want."

"It's fine," Tibarn muttered. Danny put her hands on her hips, and raised an eyebrow at him. He was being unusually civil toward her today. Though the only reason was that he was basically using as few words to speak as possible and wasn't even looking at her. Naturally, she was curious.

"You ok?" she asked, her more motherly side starting to kick in against her will.

"Go away, Danny," Tibarn growled, stuffing some food in his mouth. Danny glared at him, but decided that trying to argue would be fruitless, so she started back to the kitchen.

That was when she noticed her son crouched on the corner of the table nearest her, watching Tibarn with is big, inquisitive eyes. She glanced back at the Hawk King briefly and then smiled sweetly at the little wolf laguz as she whispered something in his ear.

"Ok!" Aiden grinned broadly with a nod. She patted him lovingly on the head, and went back into the kitchen a she scampered down the length of the table, jumping from table top, to bench and back again. He finally arrived next to Tibarn and watched the hawk laguz man for a moment, his tail swishing back and forth. When he received no acknowledgment, he shrugged, and jumped up to wrap his little arms tightly around Tibarn's forearm. The hawk king just abou jumped in surprise.

"Aiden?" he blinked in bewilderment at the little boy.

"Mommy says you need a hug," the wolf pup grinned up at him.

"Uh...Thank you, I guess?"

"You're welcome!" Aiden chimed, unattached himself from the older laguz's arm, and leapt back on top of the table. A small smile came to the hawk king's face, and he ruffled the little boy's hair as he went back to eating.

"Are you gonna eat that?" Aiden suddenly asked, pointing at a pastry.

"Aiden!" Danny scolded, appearing the the doorway, "Don't beg for food. You already ate!"

"Yes mommy," the wolf pup mumbled dejectedly. She looked at him sternly for a moment before going back to work. Aiden leaned over the table, making sure she was completely out of sight, and then turned back to Tibarn with big expectant eyes.

The hawk king smirked, and tossed him the sugary snack, "You better eat that somewhere else so your mother doesn't catch you."

Aiden saluted, and bounded out of the tent, the pastry secured safely in his jaws. Tibarn laughed quietly, and shook his head, completely ignoring the dirty look Danny was now giving him.

* * *

About a half hour later:

"Reyson!" Mia squealed, rushing up behind the heron prince and hugging him tightly. He gasped, almost squawking in shock.

"Mia? Is that you?" he smiled kindly at her once he was released from her grip.

"Of course it's me! I haven't changed _that _much, have I?" she chuckled, and then yelled over her shoulder, "Hey Celly! Guess who's here!"

"Hm?" the sniper looked up, having been distracted by a small crack in her bow that she was trying to fix to avoid accidental injury later. She blinked a few times in surprise before her face brightened and she hurried over to greet them.

"Are you alright?" Resyon asked quietly, quickly pulling her close.

"And so it starts," Celeste sighed, rolling her eyes, "Nothing bad has happened so far. Well, with the exception of almost getting killed by Mia, but Rhys and Mist were there, so I'm fine."

"Well?" Ike looked at the heron prince and the two previously ignored hawk laguz expectantly, motioning to the nearby tent where they held meetings.

"Well what?" Celeste looked at them all curiously, a bit of worry coming to her when she noticed their grim expressions.

Reyson sighed heavily, but said nothing as he lead her into the tent by the hand along with the others. Once they were inside, Janaff dropped the bomb, and Celeste felt all the blood drain from her face as she squeezed Reyson's hand tightly.

Meanwhile:

"What's with the bird people? They all look out of it," Mia mused, watching as the rest of the Pheonician army landed in their camp, "And weren't the crows supposed to come too? Or did I just mishear something?"

"I dunno," Heather shrugged.

"You could always ask," Lantose suggested.

"I think I'll wait for Celeste to tell me. You know, to avoid an awkward situation."

Boyd raised a thick eyebrow at her, "Mia being concerned with awkwardness...That's a new one."

She stuck her tongue out at him, "I just have the feeling that if I _were _to ask, it would be too awkward for even me to handle."

"Wow. I didn't know it was possible for something to be that awkward," Rolf was trying _very_ hard to keep a straight face.

"Ha ha. Aren't you hilarious," Mia muttered boredly, "Stick to being cute, kid. Ooo! Ooo! Celly!" she rushed over to her friend, throwing her arm around the sniper's shoulders, "So do tell us, what did you learn?"

"Uh..." Celeste thought carefully for a moment, "To summarize, Kilvas stabbed Pheonicis in the back and then twisted the knife back and forth a few times."

"No way!" the swordmaster flinched, looking around her a bit.

"Unfortunately, yes way," Celeste snorted, shaking her head.

"Ohhhh, the poor bird people...," Mia stuck out her lower lip, giving some nearby hawks a sympathetic look which was returned with a glare.

"No one's going to believe you actually have empathy for them if they are referred to as "bird people"," the sniper muttered, giving her friend a warning glare of her own.

"Sorry. I don't mean to be disrespectful."

"She can't help it," Boyd tried not to snicker, but Mia was too busy squealing with delight to notice his comment.

"Janaff! Ulki! Yay!" the swordmaster quickly greeted both hawks with a hug that was not returned though she didn't care, "You simply _must _stay in our tent again!"

"Sure...oh wait," Janaff looked around carefully, "Who all is in your tent?"

"Myself, Celeste, Danny, and Aiden," she grinned, "Who else?"

"I don't know," the blond hawk wrinkled his nose, "I'd rather keep my dignity in tact. Being treated like a kid is the last thing I need, especially in front of my peers."

Ulki rolled his eyes, before smiling softly, "I'll come."

"What!?!" Janaff squawked.

"Excellent. Are you _sure _you don't want to come, Janaff. Because if you won't, we'll have to find a replacement," Mia warned. He gulped.

"A replacement. W-what do you mean by that?"

Celeste rolled her eyes, "She means that we'll probably have to find someone that can take your place in out tent so that we won't all have this empty feeling."

Janaff frowned, "Hmph! NO ONE can replace me."

"Oh I don't know about that. We could probably find someone," Mia mused, rubbing her chin.

"...Fine. You guys win...for now," Janaff mumbled dejectedly.

"Oh yays!" Mia clasped her hands together, "Come on, lets grab Reyson and get you all moved in!"

"I'm afraid that's going to have to wait. We have war to attend to," Soren interrupted, giving them all a dismissive glance.

* * *

A little later:

"This is going to be so much FUN!" Mia covered her mouth to suppress an excited squeal, "We get to go and burn stuff to the ground."

"I had no idea you were such a pyro," Celeste giggled as they lay and wait for Ike to give the order to move on the enemy supply camp. Their group was small, but that was probably for the best, only consisting of Ike, Mist, Boyd, Oscar, Shinon, Celeste, Soren, Mia, Heather, Haar, and Nephenee. Soon Ike gave the command, and they stormed into the camp.

It was pretty simple, really, most of them could hide behind fences and whatnot where the enemy had trouble reaching the while the stronger members blocked the paths to the weaker ones. Celeste watched as Nephenee hesitantly lit a pile of supplies on fire, and then quickly backed away as the blaze went skyward. They would have to hurry if they didn't want these smoke signals to raise an alarm.

"Mia, release the horses from that pen," Soren instructed as the swordmaster walked by. She nodded, and hurried over to the latch.

"Run little ponies! Be free!" she cried, throwing the gate open wide. The horses stared at it with uncertainty for a moment before making a run for it. In all directions.

"No, not that way!" Mia screamed irritably as the horses went toward the center of the camp even though the exit was nearby.

"Hey! Watch it!" Boyd growled as one of the beasts charged passed him, "Are we sure this is a good idea?"

"Just stay focused. We'll be fine," Oscar called back, watching as a nobleman ran by on the verge of tears. Heather stood not far away, swiping some gold from a pouch as he ran by.

"This is just too easy," she sighed, tossing a torch at another nearby supply pile.

"So far," Haar yawned, looking around before charging another enemy.

The boss, a user of dark magic, gave them some trouble, especially since it was hard to reach him unless you used bows or magic yourself. Everyone who couldn't use long range weapons tried to stay out of his way...well except for Boyd, but Mist was right there to heal him up again. It wasn't long before they had finished burning the last of the supply piles. There were still horses running every which way, but that couldn't be helped, so Ike gave the order to retreat before any of the main Begnion force arrived.

Back at camp, everyone was busy. They had managed to cross the river, and were again setting up camp. Several were wounded, and the healers were busy. A few none healing units also helped in the medics tent. Celeste just stared at the scene with an expressionless face. This war was bigger than any they had been in before. Not only were the armies bigger, but so was the issue. The struggles between beorc and laguz went far deeper than one nation conquering another.

"So how was your day?" she asked Janaff upon spotting him.

"It was invigorating!" he grinned, "Everyone is so pumped right now! There's no way we can loose this war!"

"Don't let that confidence get to your head, ok?" Celeste sighed. The laguz here were on the verge of a frenzy it seemed like. They were all so eager to fight, and victory tended to make it worse.

"Aw, come on Celeste. Where's your fighting spirit?" he teased.

"On a leash. Look, I'm just telling you to be careful is all."

Janaff looked at her a moment before chuckling, "Looks like Reyson's rubbing off on you."

"Huh?" she blinked a few times as that sunk in, "Oh skies, he is!"

She squatted down, putting her hands on either side of her head with a groan. Janaff just laughed at her, and a few passersby stared in confusion.

"It's not funny!" she growled, standing up again. He just kept laughing.

"What's not funny?" Reyson asked curiously, walking up to them. Celeste felt a small blush come to her cheeks.

"Ah...Reyson. Done helping in the medics tent?" Celeste asked quickly.

He rolled his eyes, "No. I just heard you got back and came to check on you."

Janaff started snickering again, causing Celeste to glare at him, "Well, I'm fine. I think my hair is full of ash, but I'm fine, as usual," she reported. She didn't feel like chastising him right now, seeing as Janaff was still right there.

"Good," he nodded, and gave her a quick kiss, "I'll see you later then. Unless you'd like to come help..."

"That probably wouldn't be such a good idea. Shinon's in there for straining something, and I want to avoid him at all costs," Celeste shrugged. Reyson nodded in understanding, and walked away. Meanwhile, Janaff was still laughing quietly.

"Oh stop it," the sniper scolded, putting her hands on her hips.

* * *

That evening:

"Aiden! Let go!" Janaff whined, trying to pull his pillow out of the wolf pup's jaws. He just growled back playfully.

"If you rip that pillow, we'll have to give Janaff yours," Danny warned, glancing up from where she was writing something in a small book. Aiden transformed with a worried look, and quickly dashed over to his own little pillow, hugging it tightly.

"No mommy! Amy gave it too me!" he cried.

"I know. That's why you aren't to ruin any one else's pillows, understand?" she warned. He nodded, and curled up next her her, still retaining his grip on the pillow.

"Is that a diary?" Mia asked suddenly, looking at Danny's book. The magpie quickly hid it from view.

"No! Of course not!" she huffed, giving the swordmaster a threatening glare.

"I bet it is," she teased.

"Believe whatever you want, but it's not true" Danny mumbled, glaring back at the page before snapping it shut. She stuffed it and her writing utensils under some of her belongings.

"It's nice to be all together again, isn't it," Celeste giggled, half-sarcastic.

"Yes, I agree," Mia nodded, grinning from ear to ear.

"Me too!" Aiden chirped.

Danny smiled down at her son, "And if Aiden's happy, I'm happy."

Ulki nodded, "This tent does have a strangely home-like feel to it. I doubt it would feel the same if one of us was absent."

"Just like old times," Janaff stated dryly, still not completely convinced he wanted to be here.

"In a way, it's almost like we never left," Reyson sighed contently.

Mia wrinkled her nose, "Don't get all philosophical on us, Reyson. You knew you'll only confuse Aiden and Janaff."

"And Mia," Celeste coughed.

"Hey!" her forest haired friend just stuck her tongue out at her.

"Girls..." Danny gave them both a look. They shared a glance, and quickly retreated under their blankets. Danny opened her mouth to speak again, but Janaff interrupted.

"We know, we know. It's time for bed," he rolled his eyes, "G'night."

A small chorus of goodnights followed, and soon everyone was settled in their beds. Danny held Aiden, and Aiden held his pillow. Mia started snoring, but Janaff's quickly drowned hers out. Ulki put in his earplugs, and was happy as a clam. And Celeste and Reyson slept side by side, the heron prince's wing folded over his fiance to keep her warm and safe.

The entire camp slept, except for the night guard. Most laying content on their mats and in their cots, warm and comfortable. None of them realized how tomorrow things were going to take a turn for the worst, and it wasn't going to get any better from there.

* * *

Frog: For once I managed a decent ending! And the chapter was pretty long compared to most so far in this story! I'm not doing too bad I guess. And I was a lot like Mia with the horses, I let them out and then started yelling at them for being stupid and going the wrong way. Anyways, now for the drawing of Volke's pairing. We have Heather, Titania, Marcia, Tanith, Sigrun (someone suggested a peg. knight, so that's why they're all listed), Lucia, and Vika (whom I forgot was in an earlier review, but is now on the list.

Drumroll please as I cut the names in pieces and stick them in this convenient little Ipod Shuffle box my sister left at the computer.

Whoever gets picked the most out of five draws wins

...

Titania-Heather-Marcia-Marcia-and Marcia again! So I guess that's what it will be VolkexMarcia, unless there are any strong objections to that pairing and you want me to try again.

So anyways, sorry that was a little drawn out. I'm in kind of an animated mood at the moment and couldn't resist. Anyways, please review! I love to hear from you! And anyone reading Hawks and Ravens, I'm still working on that, and there's a different story I'm going to update before it. Thank you for your patience (or for at least not strangling me yet). I'll update whenever I get the chance, I just can't say how soon that will be. I shan't quit this story though, always remember that. I've got too much planned to let it die!

Thanks again! Bye!!


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